Carrier
by Big J Bonk
Summary: After the events of Crimson Claws, Tristepin and Eva are living a nice, quiet life together. But boredom and a bunch of crazy circumstances throw the two into an unfamiliar place with little chance of getting out. Forced to team up with an old enemy, they must defeat whatever this place throws at them. But something is wrong with Tristepin, and he wants to know what. Discontinued.
1. Prologue

** Hey, everyone! I'm back after the longest break in FanFiction history! But you guys all know I'm sorry. I think I even apologized in advance. Did I? No? Well, whatever. That isn't the point.**  
** I'm back with an all-new fandom to write about! That's right, I'm writing a fic about a fandom I heard of back in September! It's March while I'm typing this, so I guess it's been long enough. I'm not even gonna attempt a Steven Universe fic right now. THAT I got into about a week ago, and any attempt at a good story will absolutely result in disaster. –cough cough stevencanshootlasers cough-**  
** I plan on making this a trilogy, for all of the Pinpin fans who, like me, wanted a story that wasn't all about Yugo's rise to nobility (but those are all very good). I'm writing this one out so I don't have an excuse to totally abandon it.**  
** Also, I'm gonna say right now that I'm not totally familiar with the zoology or other terminology, as most of my knowledge comes from the show. But I do my research if needed, so hopefully that's enough.**  
** This first chapter is mostly a season 2 briefing from the POV of your favorite Iop. There WILL be differences from canon, but what can I say? It's Tristevision! Totally not a cover-up for not watching the show in forever!**  
** So, enough word-count filler. Let's get this story started!**  
** …I forgot what typing felt like. :')**

**NOTE: THE ITALICS ISSUE HAS BEEN FIXED.**

Disclaimer: I don't own Wakfu. Not its show, not its game, not its comic, not even its merchandise. One of these days I'm getting a Pinpin cosplay. –drools-

This story will be rated anywhere from K+ to T+, maybe some M as we go. But T+ to be safe.

Prologue  
~(O)~  
Tristepin didn't think he'd ever been so happy in his life.

It couldn't have been more than a few weeks since Rubilax had sealed him inside of his small dagger. Although he was thoroughly convinced that Rubilax had saved him, the Shushu was still clearly intent on taking over the World of Twelve. The Iop figured he'd spend an eternity trapped in the dagger, separated from the friends he'd made on his journey, watching the world crumble and waste away in the wake of Rubilax and his minions. But, as usual, he was wrong. And for once, he was elated.

About a week before, he had tried to do anything he could to escape his small prison. When no exit was found, he stopped, thinking about the friends he'd left behind and wondering what had become of them. He really missed them all. But the one he missed the most was Evangelyne.  
Ever since he'd met Eva, he knew there was something special about her. Maybe it was her spitfire attitude. Maybe it was her never-ending kindness, or how she would always let him know if he screwed something up (well, he didn't always like that one…). It might have even been her wondrous sense of adventure. In many ways, he and Eva were a lot alike, more than she likely cared to admit.

And yet, back then, in the battle against Razortime, for whatever reason he'd thought it was a brilliant idea to get himself killed. Given, there wasn't much else he _could_ do at the time, but he had left behind his beloved Cra. With a smile. A smile, as if he was happy with leaving her forever.

He missed her so much… He knew he had to get to her, somehow!

And, a few days later, it finally happened. With what felt like a breath of fresh air, Tristepin burst out of his small confinement, free to travel the world as he pleased. And the first thing he did was look for Evangelyne. He found her near instantly, writing in a small book in front of his statue, heroically posed and sword in hand.

Now that he had one, Tristepin didn't know if he was happy about it or not.

He called out to Eva, hoping that she would hear. But she couldn't, for Tristepin's body was only his conscience, nothing that could be sensed. He'd known it would likely be that way, but he looked around anyway, trying to find some way to communicate. Then it hit him: the book!

He reached for the book, hoping to write, or draw, or _anything_ to let her know he was there. "_Eva,_" he called insistently, hoping it would work but knowing it wouldn't. His voice was distant, even to his own ears.

He was surprised when Eva looked up from her book. Encouraged, he tried again, a little louder. "_Eva!_" She frantically looked around her, eyes already misting._ Pinpin?_ Was she going mad? She didn't think so.

Tristepin looked back down at the book, and noticed ink trailing from his fingers down the page. Concentrating, he willed the ink to take a shape, or make a word. It formed into a sloppy version of himself. He guessed being a spirit didn't make him an artist. But the movement on the page urged Eva to look down.

He remembered why he was there in the first place. And he remembered where he really was, as he started to feel the pull of some invisible force. "_Go to Rubilaxia,_" he rushed, "_That's where you'll find me._" He felt a gust of wind begin to carry him away, along with the words, "_Follow the wind…_"

With a sudden lurch in his stomach- or where his stomach should be- Tristepin found himself back in the dagger. Apparently he could only come out for a short time. He wondered, did Eva hear his message? Did she understand it? Would she even come? All he could do was wait.

For the next few days, Tristepin periodically came out, trying to reach for his other friends. But nobody seemed to hear him, only Eva. So he focused more on communicating with her, having realized she was able to notice him better if he was making contact with something tangible. Sometimes she would see him in the plant life, in the wind, or even in a reflection on the water. Tristepin enjoyed the company, even if Eva had a hard time hearing him sometimes. Sadly, he could never stay with her very long. But at least now he knew for sure that she was coming. And she was close, so close!

The last time he spoke with her, she was practically right outside. As he left her for the last time, he wondered how she would handle Rubilax. The Shushu was using his body, so would Eva be okay if it came to a battle?

Which brings him back to why he was so happy.

It turned out that Eva could definitely kick Rubilax's ass when it came down to it (even if he was unable to physically harm her, thank Iop for that), and she looked so pretty when she did it. His heart leapt to his throat when she gave him a good hard kick in the Gobballs. Yep. Definitely the most attractive woman he ever met.

As Eva grabbed Tristepin by the hilt and left the castle, she managed to take something else with her.

His heart.

~(O)~

Months later, there they were, witness to the battle between Rushu, the Shushu King, and Goultard, Tristepin's master and the new Iop God. Tristepin, possessed by the newly good guy-ified Rubilax, wanted nothing more than to jump in the first chance he got. And that was exactly what he was going to do! But as he took the first step forward, Eva's slender hand reached out to grab one of his thick fingers.

Tristepin turned to look at her, confused, and saw that her eyes were pleading, almost begging, for him to stay with her. "Pinpin, they're at a level far beyond ours."

Had it been anyone else telling him this, he would have gotten even more fired up, ready to prove them wrong. But when Eva said it, it made his insides melt and his set face soften. As Rubilax slowly vacated his body, the hand Eva firmly held on to slipped into hers. It felt perfect; it felt right. He turned to fully face her, and he could see a soft gleam in her forest-green eyes.

As Tristepin's hand reached out to lightly brush her cheek, he could feel his own cheeks getting warm. He leaned forwards, so their foreheads were barely touching. Eva didn't move away. Mustering his courage, Tristepin did something he'd wanted to do for months.

He kissed her.

At first, Tristepin couldn't believe what he was doing. But Eva didn't hesitate. She kissed him right back. Her lips were soft, with just the right amount of plumpness. The kiss was short, soft, and sweet.

When the two pulled away, flushed from something aside from embarrassment, Tristepin said, "Eva, I'm a Iop. This is what I'm supposed to do."

He turned and charged into the battle, as Goultard was on the ground and Rushu was distracted and gloating. What he didn't expect was for the Shushu King's attention to be drawn from Goultard to him, and he also didn't expect Goultard to quickly charge ahead and grab the Shushu King.

"You need to get away from here with your Cra," his master commanded, gritting his teeth. With a wink, he added, "You have a family to protect, 'Daddy.'" Goultard looked up, where the Shukrute Zaap was beginning to close. If he was going to stop Rushu, he knew he had to get up there. He bent his knees, preparing to jump.

"Wait, Master Goultard!" Tristepin yelled. What did he mean by 'Daddy?' And his family? He didn't get the chance to ask, as Goultard leapt into the sky, Rushu in tow, who was bellowing obscenities as the Zaap closed, swallowing the both of them.

Tristepin didn't realize he was staring until Eva put a hand on his shoulder. "Let's go, Pinpin," she said quietly. He nodded, and the two of them began walking, looking for a place to hide from the itchy-trigger Sufokian Army. Tristepin walked in front of Eva, mulling over what Goultard had told him. But, being a Iop, he knew he wasn't a very good thinker, so he figured he'd ask Eva; she's smart.

"What do you think he meant by Daddy?" He turned when she didn't answer right away, and saw that she was no longer right behind him.

She was in Remington's hold, at gunpoint.

"Don't move!" Remington exclaimed triumphantly. "Or this pretty girl gets it!"

And Tristepin didn't move. As soon as he'd realized Eva was in danger, he'd frozen stiff, eyes wide with a very familiar anger. He knew he could easily beat Remington and his weird Bow-Meow brother, but if he even so much as acted like he wanted to hurt them, they would kill Eva, and he wouldn't be able to do anything about it. The thought only pissed him off even more.

He heard a gasp as Eva's sister, Cleophee, ran into the cave, alarmed by Smisse's shouting. "Just let her go!" she cried out. She may be stubborn and a bit mean, but she still cared for her big sister.

To their surprise, Remington actually considered this. The Cra girl had done so much to hurt him in the past, so what would hurt worse; her quick and painless death, or the death of someone she loved? Well, the choice hardly seemed difficult to him.

"Hmm, fine," he grunted, letting Eva go. He smirked. "But that only means someone's goin' down in your place!" And he aimed one of his guns, right between Tristepin's eyes.

And fired.

Instinctively, Eva turned and jumped in the way. There was no way she was letting the Rogue hurt Pinpin! She registered a bang, a sharp, hot pain in her shoulder, and a dull _thud_ when she hit the ground.

Tristepin saw red. He saw everything, but almost nothing registered. He only picked up random things: _Gun. Eva. Pain. Hurt. Rogue. Dead.  
_  
Someone was going to die.

Remington was surprised, but brushed it off by blowing out the steam from his Shushu's barrel.

"Eva!" Cleophee ran forward, wanting to check on her sister. But she was stopped by Tristepin's arm in her way. Even though his face was deceptively calm, it was clear that Smisse was his.

Then, he began to walk forward, bottling his anger and saving it. It began building, growing, and it wanted some blood spilled. Remington soon understood his situation and fired, but the bullet harmlessly passed as Tristepin bared his teeth in a feral snarl. The Rogue shot again, but was simply deflected with a swing of Rubilax, who was then tossed to the ground.

"This is gonna get messy," he commented.

And now Tristepin was right in front of Remington. The Rogue was terrified. And Tristepin was thoroughly pissed off.

As Remington fumbled with his gun, Tristepin tightly balled his hand into a fist. The Roublard didn't even have the time to point his gun when the fist came into full contact with his face. A sickening crunch was heard, but at first, it seemed like nothing happened. Suddenly, Remington flew backwards, then skipped across the water before finally crashing through the surface.

Grany yelped. It was his turn now. But he wasn't going down without taking a little something with him!

He checked to make sure the Iop wasn't looking. He then snuck over to the other gun, which had fallen out of its holster when Remi was sent flying. Unfortunately for him, the Iop had looked over as soon as he'd gripped the gun in his jaw. He received a sharp kick to the stomach, and he followed his brother to the bottom of the ocean.

Needless to say, Eva was stunned. She had never seen Pinpin so angry before, even when they argued, or the other times when she got hurt. What was strange about the whole thing was how composed he was; usually, he just hit things with reckless abandon. Also, did she imagine it, or...?

Tristepin quickly turned and ran to Eva's side. Was she okay? Was she bleeding? Dying? Upon closer inspection, he was relieved to find that she had nothing more than a singed shoulder.

He still felt just in his punishment, though.

"Eva, are you okay?" he asked urgently.

"Y-Yeah," she replied. "I think so..."

Cleophee ran over and pulled Eva into a tight hug. "Oh, Eva! I'm so glad you're okay!"

"I-I'm fine, Cleo," Eva reassured her, trying to wriggle free of her iron grip. Finally she was released, and took in a gasp of fresh air.

Tristepin was glad Eva was okay. This time, he intended to keep it that way.

"Eva..." She looked over, wondering what he was going to fuss over now. Instead, he sighed and said, "How about we take a break from adventuring for a few months? Find somewhere to stay, see how it goes?"

Eva was pretty surprised. The Iop Brain who did and thought of nothing but fighting was suggesting taking a break? Not that she was complaining, of course.

She simply smiled and said, "I think we could both use a break."

Tristepin pulled her into a gentle hug. He meant good on his promise; he wanted to keep Eva safe (and then there was the whole 'Daddy' thing Goultard told him about, whatever that meant), but if he started to feel jittery after three hours, then three months was about all he could stand without beating someone up. Even though he had knocked around Remington pretty good, he still felt like he didn't do quite enough. His rushed promise to Eva was the only thing keeping him from going to the bottom of the ocean and making sure he finished the job. And that scared him.

Maybe he was still angry about the whole thing; he didn't know. But he fully intended to keep his promise. Maybe, after three months, the feeling would go away on its own...

~(O)~

** Alright! We got ourselves a chapter! I promise you that the next chapter will NOT be based on canon events. It's about to get AU, guys! That's why I double-updated; not a lot of people will read a story that starts out canon, especially if there's only one chapter. But thank you guys for reading, and please let me know what you think!**  
**Note: Updates may be anywhere from a few days to a few months. I'll try to avoid the latter.**


	2. Chapter 2

** Hey! Welcome back to Carrier! I'm glad you thought it was worth it to keep reading! I promise we'll be getting to the story this time around, and with a much shorter Author's Note, too! I hope you enjoy this new chappie!**

Disclaimer and rating still apply. They will apply with all chapters. I will put a warning before possibly M-rated chapters. Otherwise assume it to be T+.

Chapter 2

~(O)~

It was a wonderful summer day outside. It was nearly noon, with the sun trailing soft orange rays of light between the leafy branches of the giant trees, illuminating the pollen in the air. Built in a small clearing among the trees was a modest wooden house, small and cozy. On the edge of this clearing, kicking at an old and scarred tree, was a topless, dark-skinned Iop. Today, as he repeatedly hit the already battered tree, he was feeling especially restless.

It had been five months since he had made his promise to Eva to relax and take a break from adventuring. He was bored with no one to fight, as any beasts stopped coming around two months into their stay due to always leaving with numerous cuts and bruises.

His friends rarely visited, as Amalia was back to her princess duties, Yugo was helping Alibert with the inn, and who knew where Ruel was, probably digging into some gold vein. Yugo would always try to make time to visit, and was even sometimes up to a friendly spar. But those only ever lasted Tristepin a few days. Thankfully, though, ever since he and Eva had gotten together, she would sometimes, ah, 'treat' him with a little surprise, but even that could only keep him occupied for so long.

It was never enough. So here he was, harassing some poor old tree, practically the only thing keeping him sane in a nearly isolated forest. He was a Iop, he needed to fight something! But to him his promise still held, because he of course forgot to count the days.

Tristepin stopped kicking the tree, since it was getting him nowhere, and walked into the house to see what they had to eat. A quick scan of the kitchen showed him nothing readily available to eat, and slow breathing from the bedroom told him that Eva was still asleep. Which was unusual, since she was usually the early Piwi, and was always the one who woke him up in the morning.

Looks like today he'd be trying his hand at cooking.

~(O)~

Eva was having the most wonderful dream. In it, she and Pinpin were having a footrace in a beautiful golden meadow. Her dream seemed to ignore the Iop's inhuman speed, as she was the one winning. The dream _did_ seem a bit silly to her, but she couldn't help what she dreamed about.

Her dream was rudely interrupted by an awkward hand shaking her shoulder. Already annoyed, she turned over with a groan. Couldn't she even sleep in if she wanted to? She groaned again when she got another nudge.

"Eva, I made you breakfast," Tristepin insisted.

Finally, she sat up and rubbed the sleep out of her eyes, yawning. "It's later than I thought," she muttered, squinting at the sunlight streaming in through the window. When she felt something that was somehow both hot and cold settle on her lap, her eyes nearly bugged out of their sockets.

She was staring at a steaming, bubbling concoction of something the same color as Pinpin's hair. It gurgled at her as a bubble popped, sending a thin trail of goop down the bowl. She looked up to see Pinpin, who was nervously awaiting an answer.

"Er... What is it?"

"I made you breakfast, Eva," he beamed proudly.

"I can see that! But... _What_ is it, exactly?" Tristepin stared hard at the bowl like he was thinking. "You mean you don't know what you put in it?"

Tristepin looked down, obviously upset. "Well, you weren't awake yet, so I wanted you to wake up to a nice surprise." He looked to the side, avoiding eye contact. "And I already tried it, and it didn't taste too bad to me."

By no means was Pinpin a picky eater, but even he wouldn't eat it if it was nasty. And she really was touched by the rare gesture. Maybe she would try just a little, if only to make Pinpin feel better...

Eva hesitantly took the spoon from the bowl and lifted it to eye level. It shrank in on itself in the spoon like thick soup. Gauging Pinpin with her eyes, she stuck the spoon in her mouth.

The flavor surprised her. She couldn't quite place her finger on it. Was it sweet? Bitter? Spicy? Salty? By no means was it good; she'd prefer Yugo's cooking any day. But it was tolerable, so she could eat it, if only for the sake of Pinpin's happiness...

Tristepin's ears perked up the slightest bit. "Is it... good?"

"Well..." Eva pondered, tasting the semi-solid soup in an attempt to pinpoint a flavor. "It's... unique..."

"Really?!" He sat up straight, shoulders back. "_Ahem_. I mean, of course it is! The other Knights liked to think I was the best cook, you know!"

One word: Yikes.

As Eva silently ate whatever it was she was eating, Tristepin sat at the foot of the bed and thought. Should he ask her to go on adventures again? Shouldn't he? Maybe sucking up and asking how long it had been would be a good start. No matter what he decided to do, it was clear that he needed to get some much-needed fighting out of his system or so help him.

"Hey, Eva?" he asked sheepishly as Eva immediately set the bowl down on the nightstand.

"Yes? What is it?"

Tristepin took a deep breath. "Listen. Um, I was hoping, maybe, uh..." He steeled himself; he needed to get right to the point! "I need to go."

"What? Go where? Why?"

"Eva, I need to fight somebody!"

"But you always spar with Yugo when he comes over."

"It isn't _enough_, Eva." Tristepin was becoming frustrated. Did she even get it? "It's been more than three months, I think, and I really can't take much more of this!"

"Actually, it's been five months," Eva said, a bit guiltily.

"What?! Five months?! Awww, how come you didn't tell me...?"

"How long it's been shouldn't matter!" Eva suddenly snapped. "I thought I was important enough to you to put me over your need for useless violence!"

Where did _that_ come from? He didn't know, but he didn't like it. "It's not just violence! I'm a Iop; I mean it when I say I need to fight! It's in my blood, Eva; you know this! And what about you?! You only want to stay because it suits _you_ just fine! Is it Cra to be so selfish? To not even consider how _I_ might feel?!"

Eva visibly flinched. He was right. The only reason she didn't want to leave was because she'd just wanted to relax. She knew how Pinpin got if he didn't burn his energy somehow, but she still never said anything. Not once did she consider his feelings about their situation; she'd only cared about herself. What kind of girlfriend was she if she didn't even think about her own boyfriend?

Instead of looking triumphant like he wanted to, Tristepin wilted. He'd done it again; he said something just to hurt Eva and see her squirm. It wasn't the first time he'd done so. It happened nearly every time she called him a Iop Brain, even if she was joking about it. It used to never bother him so much before, but ever since the whole Rubilax thing, even the smallest things would upset him. He didn't want to be against Eva, especially over something like this.

"Look, I'm sorry," he said, wilting further. "I didn't mean that. It's just... All this time of doing nothing... I guess it's been making me kinda snappy." For lack of a better word in his dictionary.

"No, Pinpin. I'm sorry," Eva insisted. "I should have been paying attention, and not insisted that we stay here for so long. We can leave any time you want to."

"No, I didn't mean it like that, Eva," Tristepin replied, a bit thrown of by the apology. "I just wanted to be able to go every once in a while, find a tournament in town or something. I really do like it here. I wouldn't want to leave forever."

Eva nodded with a small smile. "If that was all, we could have done that all you liked. You only promised to stop adventuring, after all."

Tristepin facefaulted while Eva laughed at his expense.

~(O)~

Tristepin was quick to say that they should head for Bonta to see if they could find a Gobbowl game or something, so Eva decided to go with it. The two of them were living on one of a small collection of islands, many of which were connected by rickety wooden bridges, and one of these islands had a Zaap that led to a small town a few days' travel from Bonta. They packed food, water, a map that didn't talk back, and Tristepin's trusty sidekick, Rubilax.

Eva walked ahead as Tristepin fumbled with the map. He turned it, twisted it, and even held it backwards in an attempt to read it. "Er, are you sure this map is right? Because it looks all wrong."

"Because that's a map of the area around Bonta, you goof," Eva replied, hiding a smile. "We're still on the islands."

"Oh." So he rolled up the map and put it back in the small haversack it came from.

There was silence for a few minutes as the two crossed a bridge. Neither of them really knew what to say. Even Rubilax didn't tease his Guardian about his map-reading skills. The more Tristepin thought about it, the more he wondered what was going on in the Shushu's head.

"Hey Rubi. You've been quiet ever since this morning. What's up?"

"Hm?" Rubilax hummed, distracted. "Oh, it's nothing. I've just been thinking."

"About?"

"Shushu things. None of your concern."

"Pfft, whatever," Tristepin scoffed, trying to pass as disinterested. But he respected Rubi, so he didn't bother him about it.

"You know," Eva said after a few moments, "I heard that there was a dungeon nearby here."

"Really?!" Tristepin's eyes sparkled. "That'd be so cool! I changed my mind, I don't wanna go to Bonta anymore! Let's go to the dungeon!"

Eva rolled her eyes at her boyfriend's antics. "I thought you'd say that. Who knows, there may be some super-secret treasure there."

"_Hee_, awesome!"

As they changed direction, Rubilax remained silent.

~(O)~

It was coming.

She slowly rose to consciousness. Nothing could be seen in the near pitch darkness, but she knew it was coming.

She rose, sluggishly due to her large, still drowsy mass. As soon as she was up, she firmly planted her thick arms on the ground. And waited. And out of one of the many holes in her body came two figures, humanoid in appearance, but well over seven feet apiece, and still dwarfed by the figure who summoned them.

"_I trust... you sense... it..._" she hissed down to them.

"Yes," said one. "You have indeed given that to us."

"_Good_..." The creature almost seemed to smile. "_I wouldn't... want... a faulty... child... I want you... to retrieve it... for me..._"

"As you wish, Mother," grunted the second figure, and they both rushed off to find 'it.'

Soon, very soon, she would have it, and she would finally be free of this dark, horrible place.

~(O)~

Eva and Tristepin had been walking for well over half an hour, and with any living creatures still intent on avoiding them, Tristepin was bored.

"Are we there yet?" he whined, throwing up his arms and then hunching over. "You said it was nearby."

"I meant on a nearby island, and we should be very close now," Eva replied. "Besides, compared to how long we used to travel, it's almost like visiting a neighbor."

"We have those?"

Eva facepalmed. _Iops._

Suddenly Tristepin perked up, grinning. "There it is! You see it, Eva?!"

And sure enough, there it was, among a cluster of trees in all of its shining glory. The symbols were unfamiliar, so it was impossible to tell what was inside.  
Rubilax slowly opened his eye, then widened in alarm. "Wait, I think this is...!" He was cut off as Tristepin ran ahead, intent on running headfirst into the dungeon.

"Hold on, Pinpin!" Eva called after him. "At least let me catch-_ KYAHH!_"

"Eva!" Tristepin whipped around, felt something grab him from behind, and everything went black.

~(O)~

** Yay, that's another chapter done, and we got the ball rolling! Personally, out of all the chapters I have written down so far, this is probably my favorite, if only for the soup scene. XD I laugh every time I read it. Does that make me vain? Oh well. Then think of me as vain.**  
** Please let me know what you think, and let me know if there's something I should fix. I'll see you next chapter!**


	3. Chapter 3

** Welcome back, apparently as part of a mass update! We're gonna really start seeing some more plot development! There's gonna be quite a bit of dialogue, I won't lie. But there will also be some action, so hopefully it won't be too boring. Hope you enjoy!**

Chapter 3

~(O)~

Tristepin slowly opened his eyes. When had he closed them? He couldn't remember. He turned his head and found Eva, peacefully sleeping. So, that must have meant that their day of travel, of possible adventure, had only been a dream. The two of them were still in bed, enjoying each other's company, even in sleep.

But fully clothed?

"Yeesh, it's about time you two woke up," snarled someone above them. Tristepin jumped to his feet to face the intruder, Remington Smisse. "I was beginning to think ya died on me. Woulda been no skin off my back, though."

And Tristepin charged forward to plant a hook right in the Rogue's snarky face. As he toppled backwards, all of the feelings from five months before surged back, with interest. He _dared_ to show his face again, after what he did?! He should be dead!

"_Rgh!_ Yeah, sorry I saved your life an' all!" Remington spat. "If you're gonna kill me, go ahead. Then afterwards, maybe you'll think about what kind of a man it made you." Even if he was going to die, he wasn't leaving without an attitude.

As another wave of anger passed through Tristepin, he considered taking him up on the offer. But then Eva stirred, and any thought of teaching the Rogue a lesson temporarily left his mind as he ran to her side to make sure she was okay.

"Eva, are you all right?!"

Slowly she sat up, clutching her head with one hand and groaning. "Ugh, what happened...?"

Tristepin turned around and shot an accusing glare at Remington. "What did you do to her?"

"Uh, I saved her?" he offered sarcastically, rubbing his now bruising cheek. "Ya know, like I've been trying to tell you?"

Eva groaned. "Remington Smisse? At this point I'm not even surprised. You always seem to show up right when everyone thinks you're dead."

"Yeah, nasty habit."

"And what do you mean, 'saved?'" Eva added.

"You serious?!" Remington shouted with an incredulous look. "Did you not see those... those _things_ following you?!"

Tristepin narrowed his eyes in suspicion. "What are you talking...?" Then he felt it. A stinging on his right ear. He reached back and felt a small amount of blood welling up from a small, ragged cut. Whatever did it wasn't sharp, so it couldn't have been any of the Rogue's Shushu weapons, or even the filthy Bow-Meow's claws. So if it wasn't him, then who...?

"Explain," he said shortly.

"Well," Smisse began, "Grany and I were on the island, minding our own business," Eva rolled her eyes; right. "when we saw you guys show up. We were gonna just avoid ya, but these shadows came up behind you, so I saved you."

"That doesn't explain Pinpin's ear," Eva said. "Or my headache..."

"Because I needed to pull the both of you ungrateful losers to safety, but you kept struggling so much that it was ridiculous, and I had to knock you both out."

Tristepin chose to ignore that the Rogue was actually able to knock him out. "And my ear?"

"Hey, no way I was dragging the both of you with two guys after us without someone getting hurt. But I'm flattered that you think I could," he added with a smirk. Tristepin growled.

"But where did you take us?" Eva asked.

"The dungeon; it was close, and the two guys didn't follow us."

_The dungeon?_ Tristepin looked around for the first time since waking up. The entire sky was a murky red haze. The walls were made of jagged black rock, and started to curve inwards as they got taller, meaning they must be in some huge cave. The ground underneath their feet was made of the same black rock.

"This looks exactly like... the Shushu Realm," he muttered in disbelief.

"Close," said Remington.

"This place is called Shustuft Crust," Rubilax added. Tristepin nearly jumped; the Shushu had been so quiet. "It's a manmade pocket dimension connected to the Realm."

"Manmade?" Eva asked. It was common knowledge that the Eliatropes who once lived on the planet made the many Zaaps to be found, including many of the existing dungeons. "It must have taken Qilby days to make a temporary Zaap to Shukrute, right?"

"But Anathar was able to create hundreds of the things in a matter of seconds," Smisse replied. "So it isn't totally out of the question for some Eliatrope to create a permanent entrance, given enough time."

"I don't get it at all," Tristepin groaned.

"We're in a dungeon that's like a small Shukrute. That's all," Rubilax summed up.

"Well, can we leave now?" Eva asked.

"No," Tristepin answered. "You can't leave a dungeon until you beat its boss, and you can't do _that_ until you clear all its challenges." Eva thought back to the Dragon Cochon incident, and decided it would be safest to trust Pinpin with matters related to the dungeon.

"Hey, where's Grany?" she asked suspiciously.

"He's over by the entrance to make sure those guys don't follow us," Remington answered. "And don't bother; I know what you're gonna ask next," he added when Tristepin opened his mouth to speak. "Why did I even bother saving you? Because even I can be a nice guy sometimes, right?"

"No," Tristepin grunted.

"Well, now you're stuck with me, because trust me when I say this isn't the kind of dungeon you can complete alone."

"And why should we trust you?" Eva interjected. "You've given us no reason to, and every time we have, you used our trust to get close before trying to kill us."

"Well, right now it doesn't seem like you have much choice, do you?" Smisse countered. "Without me, hordes of Shushus will be free to kill you or do with you as they please, and they will be stronger than those minor Shushus from Rushu's Realm. Even your lover boy would have a tough time defending himself." That earned him a glare. "So, it's either deal with me and the possibility of getting killed, or go without me and for sure get yourself killed."

"I'm sure we'll be just fine without you," Tristepin snapped.

"He's telling the truth for once, Dally," Rubilax said. "In this place, any Shushu will be at least as strong as you are."

"Why do you know so much about this place?" Eva asked curiously.

"Because this dungeon drags Shushus out of the Shushu Realm when someone walks inside," he replied. "A long time ago, I was forced here as the dungeon's boss. Thankfully you only need to _defeat_ the boss, not kill them."

"And to what you said earlier, we need Remington with us, or else we're almost sure to die?" she asked.

"I hate to say it, but yes."

"You've gotta be kidding me!" Tristepin protested. "There's no way I'm gonna be anywhere near this guy!"

"Well, you're gonna have to put up with me," Smisse said coolly. "It ain't like I wanna deal with your stench." The two got in each other's face, daring the other to say something else.

"Guys, guys!" Eva scolded, getting between them. "If we absolutely have to team up, could we at least _not_ be at each other's throats?" Both men looked down at their feet in embarrassment, but not before one last glare. "That's better. Now, let's find Grany so we can beat these Shushus."

"No need. He's already coming to us," Smisse said, pointing. Sure enough, the chubby Bow-Meow was heading their way at full steam.

"Nyaaa, they're coming!" he yowled, leaping and ramming into his brother's chest.

"What?!" Tristepin exclaimed. "But no one should be able to get in if someone's already inside!"

"That must mean that they come from this dungeon," Remington stated grimly. "Though they shouldnt'a been able to get out, either."

"Either way, it looks like we'll be forced to fight them," said Eva, drawing her bow and notching an arrow. Remington pulled out his guns as Grany hid behind his legs, while Tristepin drew Rubilax and fell into a defensive stance. The three of them formed a protective circle, back to back, watching every angle carefully.

And they waited.

Tense seconds that felt like minutes went by, and no one had moved. Nothing attacked them, and there was no sign of anything besides themselves.

"Are you sure you saw them come in, Grany?" Smisse said. "Because I don't see anyth-"

Remington was the first one hit.

Tristepin and Eva whipped around when they heard the Roublard grunt in pain. Even as he began to fall, something large and black slammed into his chest before disappearing in a dark blur. Then it charged at Tristepin, who just managed to lift an enlarged Rubilax in time to block the blow, but even so was shoved back a few inches. He stopped the thing long enough to get a good look at it.

It was a dark gray, almost black, with a row of ebony spikes lining its back. Its form was bony and lanky, like some starving bipedal animal, and it glared at Tristepin with hungry yellow eyes and a toothy snarl.

Tristepin swung Rubilax, but the Shushu easily leapt back to avoid the blow. It then charged right back at the Iop, who had barely enough time to duck out of the way. But the Shushu began lashing out with abnormally large claws, thick and ragged, leaving Tristepin no time to do anything besides dodge. _This thing is fast, real fast!_

Tristepin got his lucky break when the Shushu received a blow to the back of the head from one of Eva's arrows. It turned with a low hiss to face its attacker, and Remington, who had just managed to stand up, was the first person it saw. With an angry snarl, it took a huge leap in an attempt to rake its claws though its new opponent.

With that Shushu busy, Tristepin turned around to find out where Eva went, and turned right into a heavy fist. He was launched backwards, tumbling as he went, until he finally skidded to a stop. He could already feel a tender spot growing on his cheek. He would have been lying if he'd said he was surprised at the strength of the punch.

The one who attacked him, he could tell, wasn't nearly as fast as its partner. In fact, it looked like a living suit of armor, with the weight to go with its bulk. Even if it wasn't that fast, Tristepin learned the hard way that it hurt, really bad, and it likely had the defense to match its looks.

As Tristepin struggled to get up, the new Shushu walked closer. "You really _do_ have it," it said to him. "Something we need. We'll need you to come with us, or we won't hesitate to kill your precious friends."

Tristepin was confused. What the heck could he have that they would need? But then the last sentence clicked, and he leapt to his feet, gripping Rubilax with both hands and swinging hard. The Shushu blocked it with its arm, only budging a little, and returned with another fist. Tristepin blocked as well, but as he still firmly held Rubilax in both hands, he was able to use the momentum of his recoil to spin around and deliver a powerful kick to the Shushu's relatively unprotected side, knocking it down. Hopefully it wouldn't get up any time soon.

Tristepin quickly turned around, suddenly having a frantic realization.

Where did the other one go?

He looked at where Remington lay on the ground, struggling to get up while Grany nervously scrambled around to find some way to help. But no Shushu, and that could only mean one thing.

As Tristepin's eyes grew wide, he whipped around to face Eva, arrow at the ready, looking for an opponent she could shoot. And coming up behind her, swiftly but silently, was a black, hazy blur. The other Shushu.

"_EVA!_" he called desperately, throwing Rubilax to the ground and running full speed towards Eva. But instead of looking behind her, where the danger was, she looked at Tristepin, a natural response to having her name called. And the Shushu was close, so close!

Everything seemed to happen in slow motion. And suddenly Tristepin could see every little detail. Each strand of Eva's hair, the fabric of her gloves, the flecks of brown in her vibrant green eyes. The wicked black claw aimed between her shoulder blades.

Then everything kicked into overdrive. His arms, his legs, his throat, everything burned. Then he was blind, he couldn't see. It was all a hazy red, and he just managed to get a hold of something. He felt himself spinning, spinning, out of control. His ears pounded, his body ached, it throbbed, it all _burned_. Somewhere he heard screaming, but whose he didn't know, and he didn't care. He fell into something like thick tar, and he sank.

He couldn't remember anything after.

~(O)~

** Woo, and we have another chapter done! It's the longest one so far, not counting Author's Notes. I apologize for all the dialogue, but it was necessary in order to let everyone figure out what was going on, both the readers and the characters. I promise there's gonna be some action in the next chapter! So stay tuned!**


	4. Chapter 4

** Welcome back, everybody! Here's the promised action-packed chapter! You'll finally find out what the heck was up with that last paragraph. So, here we go!**

Warning: This is an M-rated chapter for fantasy gore and violence. Not for those who are both imaginative and queasy!

Chapter 4

~(O)~

The first thing Tristepin realized was that he was pinned down.

Instantly alarmed, he thrashed about, trying to break free. But whoever held him down only gripped tighter. And after a while of this, he was able to make out voices.

"...lly, nothing... here... Dally...!"

"...ease, calm d... Pinpin, I'm okay!"

Tristepin froze. That voice, it was Eva! She was alive?! Was she okay?! Whoever held him down slowly let go, allowing him to sit up. He realized it was Rubilax. That wasn't too strange, considering where they were.

He took a careful look around; his head was killing him, and for some reason he was very cold. Remington was beat up, but otherwise fine. Naturally, the Bow-Meow was unharmed. And Eva... Thank Iop, she was perfect!

He jumped to his feet and hurried to pull her into a hug. But she took a step back. He was immediately confused. Why would she back away? Was she hurt somewhere and didn't want to worry him?

"Pinpin? Are... Are you okay...?" Tristepin blinked. Why was Eva so worried about him? He didn't even get hurt. Well, except for one bruise. That was nothing compared to a fractured arm or missing teeth, of which he'd had both, and even then Eva wasn't nearly so concerned, because she knew that in the end he was all right. So why now?

"Of course I'm okay, Eva. It's only a bruise."

"I don't mean like that," she insisted. "It's just... I've never seen you so... so..." _So? So what?_ He waited for her to finish her sentence. "... angry..."

Tristepin blinked. Angry? What was she talking about? As much as he hated to admit it to himself, he was pretty sure he'd been knocked out again, hardly able to get angry. Which likely meant that Rubilax had come out to save her in the end. He decided to thank him after this whole thing was over.

But why was he pinned down in the first place?

He looked to Rubilax for some sort of explanation, but the Shushu closed his eyes and instead asked him, "Dally, do you even remember what's happened in the past few minutes?"

Okay, really. Was he missing something? Obviously something happened, and whatever it was had to do with him. So why weren't they telling him what was going on?

"Ya know, I'm startin' to think he doesn't," Remington said. "Sure was scary as hell to watch, though."

"Seriously, what happened?!" Tristepin was starting to get really annoyed. But the way they were all avoiding telling him what happened, on top of the fact that Eva hadn't spoken at all since telling him how angry he looked, was really starting to scare him a little. "Could someone please tell me what's going on?!"

"I have no idea," Grany answered, flicking his tail. "But I'd get that arm checked out if I were you."

Curiously, Tristepin glanced down at his arm, and he nearly punched it in surprise. It was faded, and still doing so as he watched, but he could still see clearly what was there, wrapped around his arm.

A black mark, just like the one on his face.

"Wh... What is...?"

"Well, you can't expect us to know everything, can ya?" Remington grumbled.

"Actually, I believe I might know what this is," said Rubilax.

"Okay, except him. At this point, I expect him to know everything."

"I only have an idea," Rubilax continued, "so I can't say anything for sure. But before I explain, I should tell you what happened; you deserve that much."

~(O)~

At first, Rubilax didn't realize why he was thrown to the ground. He was going to yell at his Guardian, but upon hitting the ground, he was able to see him running towards Eva, and also the danger that she was in. Already he could tell that Tristepin wouldn't make it in time; he was closer, but the Shushu was faster.

Rubilax decided that it would have to be him that saved her. Since the properties of the dungeon were similar to those of the Shushu Realm, he should be able to leave the dagger. As he pushed his consciousness outwards, he could feel his form twist and pull, becoming tangible. With a short flash, he was free. He raised a heavy arm to spawn a minion or two in the Shushu's path, but surprisingly, Tristepin beat him to it.

The Iop had somehow lunged forward, grabbing hold of the Shushu and throwing it to the side. But before it could even hit the ground he was on top of it, and he axe-kicked it into the ground. When it bounced up from the impact, he clotheslined it, slamming it hard into a boulder a small distance away, where he continued to beat at it. Dazed and unable to put up any kind of a defense, the Shushu did nothing, even when black goop went flying with every blow. The dominant hand of its assailant clearly bore a Shushu Mark, covering his arm almost to the elbow.

Having stood up at some time during this exchange, the armored Shushu watched as its partner received blow after blow, unable to do anything about it. It widened its eyes in fear, and it stumbled in its hurry to escape, and it got away completely unnoticed as the others simply watched the attack.

Even when the Shushu had long died, Tristepin kept beating on it, punch after punch, screaming the entire time. He kept hitting and hitting, until nothing was left of it but a lump of flesh and oily black goo. Then he turned.

Eva couldn't believe what she was seeing. She had never seen Tristepin so furious before. He was always one to get mad if there was even a chance that she would get hurt. But never had she seen him beat down an opponent so ruthlessly. And when he turned, she couldn't even recognize him by the feral look in his eyes.

Then she saw the Mark covering his arm, and she gasped. She knew she had seen something like this before. The first time was during their encounter with Grougaloragran. That time the marks had reached almost to his shoulders on both arms. However, that was a result of him drawing power from Rubilax without getting himself possessed. She'd meant to ask him about it, but what with his disappearance and reappearance, his death, his revival, and on top of that saving the world, she had completely forgotten about it.

The second time was that day five months ago, when Rushu had invaded the World of Twelve and was fighting against Goultard and the Sufokian Army. After Remington had shot her in the shoulder. She had looked up in time to see Tristepin punch the Roublard in the face. And for just a brief moment, she could have sworn she saw the same exact mark. But by the time Remington had flown backwards, it was gone. Eva hadn't said anything, but it had left her wondering.

Now, she was seeing the mark yet again, and she still had no idea what it meant.

Tristepin glanced at Eva, then at Rubilax. With a snarl, he lunged forwards. Surprised, Rubilax threw up his arms, just in time to block a vicious kick, sending him skidding but upright a few feet away. Tristepin charged again like a wild animal, fist pulled back, then punched. Rubilax just managed to grab a hold of it with his newfound strength, and also the second fist that followed. Rubilax was also then somehow able to wrestle the Iop to the ground, writhing, kicking, and screaming.  
Remington slowly stood up and limped over to get a closer look, while Eva came to her senses and ran to her boyfriend's side, where she and Rubilax shouted and pleaded for Tristepin to come back to them.

~(O)~

As Rubilax finished telling his story, Tristepin stared on, numb with disbelief. He couldn't have possibly done that. It sounded completely made up. But Rubilax was no liar.

"Do you... really not remember anything?" Eva asked.

"No... I don't..." he answered, slowly shaking his head. He really couldn't remember anything past the Shushu attacking Eva. He looked over to where it lay and shuddered. The thing had gotten itself smeared everywhere. Any gunk that had gotten on him had already run off, but a stubborn spot clung onto his cape. He really _did_ make a mess.

But it wasn't the brutality of the Shushu's death that made Tristepin feel guilty- in his mind, it deserved everything it got, since it had attacked first- but he was scared that such brutality had caused Eva to fear him. She'd backed away when he'd tried to hug her. Eva, his sweetheart. If she could no longer stand to be near him, he didn't think he'd be able to live with himself.

"...Thank you, Pinpin."

"Huh?"

Eva smiled. "If you hadn't done what you did, I would be dead right now. I know that you only did it to protect me, so... Thank you for saving me."

Of all the things she could have said, Tristepin definitely wasn't expecting that. But you wouldn't catch him complaining. So he simply responded with his dorky idiot smile.

"Hey lovebirds, we can't exactly sit around all day!" came Remington's annoyed yell. Tristepin glared at him, annoyed that he'd ruined the moment.

"He's right," Rubilax sighed. "One of the Shushus got away, and there's sure to be others. We don't have the luxury of sitting still."

"You're right," Tristepin said, standing up with a determined look. "If we wanna get outta here, we gotta fight these things off."

"Heh, he agrees with me," Remington whispered to Grany, who cackled in delight when Tristepin grunted a quiet "Shut up."

"But I still don't understand," Eva said. "What was up with that mark? On your arm, I mean."

"Y'know, I'd kinda like to know that, too," Pinpin agreed, looking at his hand and flexing it experimentally.

"Yeah, you said you'd tell us what it was!" Grany meowed at Rubilax.

"I still can't say I know for sure," he grunted, "but I believe it was a Shushu Mark."

"That's what I was thinking," Eva said.

"I believe it might even be mine," Rubilax added.

"Uh, kinda feeling out of the loop here," Tristepin said. "I mean, none of this makes any sense."

"For once you're not the only one who thinks so," Remington sneered.

"And what the heck is that supposed to mean?"

"Guys, really!" Eva blurted. The two were immediately silenced.

"Ahem. As I was saying," Rubilax continued, "I first noticed a difference in Dally's behavior right after he and I returned to our own bodies. At first, it was only little things, such as becoming much more sensitive to insults to his intelligence." Tristepin nodded; he'd noticed that much, at least. "Over time, he became physically stronger, capable of doing things he wasn't previously able to do."

"But that doesn't explain how or why. Or much of anything, really," Remington argued.

"Do you see the Marks on Dally's face?"

"Yeah, they make me look pretty badass, don't they?" the Iop replied, flexing his muscles and trying to look cool while Smisse groaned.

"I gave him those Marks when we fought before Nox attacked the Sadida Kingdom," Rubilax went on. "However, as they are made of pure demonic energy, they should have faded away within a few days. A week, at most."

"Really?" Eva gasped. "I didn't know that."

"Yes, they should have faded away, like the marks on Vampyro and Goultard. But instead they stayed, and haven't faded at all. It could only mean that my energy is compatible with his Wakfu. They don't repel each other. This sort of thing is rare, but not entirely unheard of. However, it hasn't fully integrated his body, since it only touched the surface of his skin."

"If that stuff on his hand is this Shushu energy or whatever, then that means..." Remington trailed off.

"Yes, somehow, my energy fully integrated with Dally's body, likely when we had swapped bodies."

"I don't get any of this..." Tristepin groaned, clutching his head.

"That has to be it," Eva said. "This all started after that, and it's the only time it could've happened, if that's really what this is."

"It's the only way it _could_ have happened, to my knowledge." Rubilax nodded. "I have been in that dagger for many years; some of my energy was likely to build up there."

"But... What's gonna happen to Pinpin?" Eva clung to Tristepin's arm, eliciting a strange sound somewhere between a gasp and a squeal. "Iops have Wakfu, not Shushu energy."

"I don't know," Rubilax admitted. "But from what I've seen, it flares up when Dally is angry, so it's important for him to keep calm."

"Well, if all there is to do is to not get mad, and the Marks won't show up again, then I'm all set!" Tristepin smirked.

"Just remember, what you have inside of you is Shushu energy," Rubilax reminded him. "It is chaotic as well as powerful. It could take all of your self-control to keep yourself from hurting those around you. This will not be easy, Dally."

"Bah, I don't need easy!"

"Well, you're not exactly one to stay calm," Remington said. "In fact, you get excited by suicide missions, and you get all hissy if anyone so much as pokes your Cra. And since you attacked me from out of the blue earlier, I'd say you're the exact opposite of calm." Tristepin pouted; he had a point.

"Well, I believe in Pinpin," Eva argued, clinging tighter. "I know he can do it!"

"Hey though, we really gotta get going," Smisse said. "Like, now, before that one Shushu comes back."

"I agree," said Rubilax. "We need to leave."

"Yeah, let's go kick some Shushu butt!" shouted Tristepin, one arm raised in a confident pose. Eva rolled her eyes and smiled.

So finally, the party wandered off to find more Shushus. But meanwhile, in a far-off craggy rock cluster, a group of sharp rocks turned, each with a narrow, yellow eye.

~(O)~

She was not happy.

By the time her servant returned to her, alone, she had already learned what had happened.

"_Tangur..._" she growled. "_You didn't... capture... it..._"

"Yes, Mother," Tangur choked out. "It's strong, more so than we expected. Korma has been-"

"_I KNOW WHAT HAPPENED!_" Mother bellowed. "_And it's... quite clear to me... that you are... not qualified..._"

"Mother, I apologize-"

"_SILENCE!"_ With a swipe of her large, flat hand, she knocked the Shushu's head off of its shoulders in a spray of black liquid, where it landed in a heap of dead bodies drastically different from its own.

"_Now... for someone... else to do... the job..._" After once again firmly planting her feet on the ground, out of one of Mother's holes came a Shushu, this one considerably larger than its predecessors, a good head taller even on all fours. More quickly followed a horde of Shushettes.

"_Rigora..._" Mother growled. "_You know... what to do..._"

"Yes, Mother." With a long, low howl, the new Shushu charged, closely followed by his Shushette underlings.

Mother waited.

~(O)~

**You can't say it's stupid because the Marks are canon.**  
** Don't look for the ones I mentioned in S2E26. Those ones were made-up, at least on Tristepin. Goultard _did_ have Marks when he summoned his weapon. I doubt his were Shushu-related, though, but whatever.**  
** Welp, there's chapter 4, one of the longest chapters thus far at nine pages (on paper). The next will likely be the last mass-upload chapter, but chapter six is in the works, so be expecting that soon as well. But I have an important question when we get to the bottom of chapter five.**  
** See you next time!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Welcome back, everyone! I hope you've been enjoying the story so far! This chapter will have some more action, but I swear it'll be more than just Pinpin beating on a helpless Shushu. It'll be in a bit more detail than that, too. But I doubt this chapter will be nearly as messy, so the rating gets a measly T+.**  
** Hope you enjoy!**

Chapter 5

~(O)~

That Rogue really made no sense.

As Tristepin walked alongside the others, he thought about what Runningtown Swiss had said when they first got there. He had claimed that they were sure to die unless he was there with them. But as far as he had seen, the only things the Rogue had proven himself capable of were acting as a human punching bag, and making googly-eyes At Eva. He liked the latter a _lot_ less than the former.

Meanwhile, Eva was having similar thoughts. Why was Remington there? He hadn't done much of anything besides bicker with Pinpin. Even Rubilax was already proving himself more useful, and he was still inside his dagger up until ten minutes ago! She didn't know what his true intentions were, but she guessed it was either some lame death plot, or he was trying to use them as meat shields. Probably both.

"What're you guys lookin' at?" Remington questioned with a glance at the pair. "You've both been staring at me for like five minutes now. Let me guess, you still don't trust me, after everything I've done?"

"And what exactly _have_ you done, besides getting yourself hit?" Tristepin commented smugly.

"Well, you're not dead yet, right?"

"You're right; I think the decoy role suits you."

"What did you say, you little-"

"Knock it off, you two!" Eva interrupted before the argument could get any more heated.

"Stay on your guard," said Rubilax. "It's been long enough; we're bound to run into a Shushu any time."

Tristepin's ears pricked ever so slightly. He could have sworn he'd heard something just then. He listened closely, trying to see if he could hear the sound again. And he did, a distant, low howl. "Did you hear that?" he stage-whispered.

"Yeah, I did," Eva replied. "We probably have a couple of minutes before it finds us. Sooner, if it's anything like that Shushu from earlier."

"So I'm guessing Swiss'll be useless for this one, too."

"Hey, I heard that!" Remington snapped. "And my name is Smisse! Remington Smisse, so get it right!"

"I'll take care of it, you guys stay here!" Tristepin yelled, dashing ahead of the group.

"Ah! Pinpin, wait!" Eva called, reaching out in an attempt to grab his collar, or his arm, or whatever she could reach. But he was already too far ahead for her to reach him, racing off to face whatever danger was waiting for them. But if everything they fought was_ at least_ as strong as he was, then there was no way she was letting him go alone! So she ran ahead as well to catch up to her boyfriend. Rubilax silently followed.

Remington groaned, "I swear, Iop Brains, all of them," before finally running alongside the two, Grany perched on his shoulder.

But Tristepin knew they wouldn't catch up, not just yet. He boasted speeds that could top most land vehicles. This time, he hadn't abandoned the group out of sheer ignorance. He did it because he was afraid for Eva. He still didn't remember what had happened, but he knew it was bad. He had already attacked Rubi, his years-long friend (even if the Shushu himself wouldn't admit it). Who could say that he wouldn't attack Eva as well? Just the thought made his blood run cold. He wasn't going to take that chance. From now on, he would face everything alone.

In just moments he saw them. A swarm of Shushettes, claws waving and teeth gnashing. It was nearly as large as the bunch from Rushu's Rush. Should be a piece of cake, he'd just have to watch his butt this time.

With his usual war cry, Tristepin jumped right in the middle of the swarm. They were immediately on top of him. He punched, kicked, threw, and even sometimes bit any Shushettes that got too close. But even managing that became more and more difficult; he then remembered that last time he'd had help, so fighting almost as many all by himself was a little harder than he first thought.

Just as he was about to be overwhelmed by the little Shushus, he heard the howl again._ Damn!_ he thought._ I forgot there was another one!_ No sooner had he thought that than he felt a tremendous force ram into his chest. He flew backwards and barely recovered in time to land on his feet, stumbling as he did so.

This Shushu seemed to move around on all fours. It had fists that were much too large for its arms, a blunt snout, and one large, gleaming eye. "Oh, it's true!" it said, bouncing from side to side like an excited Bow-Wow. "It really _is_ here! For if it wasn't, surely it would have died, would it not?"

A quick check told Tristepin that no real damage was done, but seriously! What the heck did he have that the Shushus all seemed to want?!

During his brief pause, some of the Shushettes had run up and clung to his legs. It took almost no effort to shake them off, but by the time he did, Rigora was already upon him, swinging one of his meaty fists, this time a blow to the side of the head. Tristepin staggered backwards, head spinning from the blow. If he wasn't careful, he really _would_ take some serious damage.

And again Rigora came swinging, but Tristepin was able to use his arm to block the incoming fist, reinforcing his guard with his other arm. But the Shushu used his free hand to attack the Iop's unprotected side. He was sent skidding, with Rigora lumbering after him. The Shushu knocked aside a group of Shushettes who were trying to attack while their prey was prone, then leapt, attempting to crush the Iop. Thankfully he was able to roll out of the way in time, but he was given no time to get to his feet, as Rigora kept stomping after him, leaving him no choice but to keep rolling. Right towards the hungry Shushettes.

_Rgh, at this rate, I'm either gonna get crushed or eaten!_ One brave Shushette jumped in, followed by a few others, ready to deliver a finishing blow, but they were quickly shot down. Intelligently, Tristepin thought, _Huh?_

Apparently Rigora was thinking the same thing, as he looked up to see what was going on, finally letting Tristepin get up to look as well. Eva stood in firing position, Remington right alongside her. Tristepin didn't like that closeness. Rubilax was only just catching up. Fighting he could do near endlessly, but running just wasn't something he did.

At first, Tristepin was really happy to see her. But then he nearly groaned. She had gotten there faster than he'd thought she would. She _was_ a Cra, after all.

Rubilax immediately started smacking the Shushettes around, while Eva and Remington fired. "We'll take care of the Shushettes!" Rubilax yelled. "You get the big one!"

"You got it, Rubi!" Tristepin replied, grinning.

As the Shushettes turned on the newcomers, they were shot down or crushed on sight. One managed to get behind Eva, but Smisse simply kicked it away. "Hey, Iop! I'll handle your girl!" he said, winking.

"I can handle myself perfectly well, thank you," snorted Eva with a turn of her head.

_Atta girl!_

Apparently Rigora was done watching, because he barreled into Tristepin and kept going, stampeding through the shrinking Shushette swarm. Tristepin then dug his heels into the ground, grabbed hold of Rigora, and used the momentum to throw him at one of the many rock formations. It took a moment for him to roll back onto his feet, growling, but Tristepin didn't want to give the Shushu the chance to trap him again. So he charged, preparing a sharp kick. But Rigora recovered faster than he expected, and backhanded him into the same formation, this time spreading spiderweb cracks al along it and stunning the Iop.

"Pinpin!" Eva shouted, aiming a bomb arrow at Rigora's back. However, Remington slapped at her hand, causing her to misfire and blow up a small group of careless Shushettes.

"Don't do that, ya moron!" he scolded. "A man's got his pride, y'know, and getting help from a woman ain't gonna do him any good!" Then, he yelped as a Shushette bit him in the leg. Eva shot at it, quickly disposing of it with a smug look.

"I'm sorry, what were you saying?"

Remington stared at her, face blank. After a moment, he silently went back to work.

Meanwhile, Rigora was tossing Tristepin around like a ragdoll. Still dazed, the Iop was unable to do anything about it. Finally, Rigora got bored and slammed Tristepin on the ground, where he continued to lay.

"You can't do a whole lot," Rigora commented.

"Well, if you'd stay still, maybe I could hit you," Tristepin grunted.

"But that wouldn't be any fun." He glanced over to where the group was finishing of the last of the Shushettes. Eva and Remington were practically back-to-back, to Tristepin's annoyance. Rubilax was still going strong, having received a bit of a boost from the Shushettes' attacks, although he hadn't grown that much. He didn't see the Bow-Meow, meaning he was hiding somewhere, as usual. "Perhaps I'll have more fun over there. I'm sure they're getting bored, too."

"You leave them alone!" Tristepin yelled, struggling to stand. "Your fight's with me!"

Rigora simply pushed him back down. "I already beat you, and you aren't any fun," he said. "You can wait there patiently until I'm finished, and I'll come back to retrieve you. So stay put!"

Instead, Tristepin tried again to get up. With an annoyed growl, Rigora smacked him back down, hard. But his snarl quickly became a confused tilt of his head. "You really don't want me anywhere near them, do you." When he didn't get an answer, he went on. "Is it because you're friends? Can they not defend themselves against me? Or is it something else entirely...?"

This time, Tristepin was able to fully stand up. Expecting another attack, Rigora got one hand ready for another smack, but the Iop instead ran right past him, then turned to face him, effectively putting himself between the Shushu and everyone else.

Hearing the sudden shift, Rubilax looked over. Seeing what his Guardian was doing, he called, "Don't worry, Dally! I'll make sure nothing happens to her!"

"A'ight, thanks bud!"

Offended, Remington scoffed. "Why am _I_ not allowed?"

"Maybe because every time you say you have my back, you turn around and stab it?" Eva offered.

"Didja forget a couple minutes ago, hun?" came his reply, earning him a smack to the back of the head from Rubilax.

"You are very protective of them." Rigora grinned. "Perhaps something interesting would happen if I was to give one of them a nibble."

This time Tristepin attacked first, throwing a quick but heavy punch. Rigora acted in kind, throwing his own and colliding with Tristepin's fist. The Iop hissed in pain, pulling back his aching hand. Rigora leapt, ready to crush his opponent, but Tristepin kneed him in midair, surprising him and giving him an awkward landing. But as Tristepin attacked again, Rigora recovered and knocked him aside. The Iop tried to get up, but he was too worn-out to do anything but raise his head.

"Now you stay put while I have a little fun with my new playthings," Rigora sneered as he turned away from the Iop. "But the question is, which one would be the most fun to play with?"

"Leave them alone!" Tristepin yelled. He could feel himself getting angry, but he knew he had to stay calm.

Eva quickly realized the danger she was in. But she also saw how beat-up Tristepin was. Notching an arrow but pointing it downwards, she started to run towards him. His eyes grew wide. What was she doing?!

Remington blocked her path with his arm. "Are you really that stupid?! Yeah, why not run right up to the thing?!"

Rigora grinned evilly. "I think I found the one."

"No!" Tristepin shouted. He had to stay calm.

Slowly, Rigora began to make his way to Eva, who backed away a step. Remington drew the twin Shushu blades on his back and swung, but they were knocked aside, taking Smisse with them. And the Shushu got closer.

"Stop this!" _Calm down._

Rubilax slammed his hand into the ground, summoning a group of clay minions. Rigora barely slowed down as he easily took care of them, batting their summoner aside. And he got closer still.

"I said stop!" Tristepin tried to force himself up. _Stay calm._

Rigora stopped barely a foot from Eva's face. She aimed her arrow at the Shushu's ugly face, but he dauntlessly raised his large hand, ready to deliver a mortal blow.  
The hell with calm, he wasn't going to let him hurt Eva!

As Rigora's hand came down, Tristepin roared and grabbed hold of the Shushu by the horns, stopping him in his tracks. Eva backpedaled, and watched as the Mark crept up Tristepin's arm, again meeting the elbow. His eyes dulled, and he roared again as he began to pull Rigora's head away from Eva. His muscles strained and screamed, but he was beyond caring. He lifted Rigora off of the ground by his horns, spun him around, and threw him.

Rigora landed hard, but quickly scrambled to his feet as Tristepin ran towards him, screaming. He grinned. It looked like his old toy would still amuse him after all!

Rigora howled and met the Iop head-on. Jaws wide, he snapped at Tristepin, but was hit in the jaw with a brutal punch. He swatted at the Iop, sending him tumbling away. But he was unfazed, and once again ran at his attacker, giving him a hard knee to his one eye.

Rigora screeched in pain. Before he could react, Tristepin hit him hard in the nose. Finally recovering, the Shushu slammed into him with a heavy fist, sending him flying through the air. As the Iop landed, he was met with another punch, sending him reeling. Then, when he finally regained his footing, he turned to face his opponent with a roundhouse kick. But he was met with the Shushu raking his claws into his chest. Blood spurted from the wound in a red spray, and he screamed as he crumpled to the ground.

Barely conscious, Tristepin barely heard Eva's desperate scream, but he couldn't bring himself to care. He was cold, so cold. He slowly closed his eyes, and he became numb to the world.

~(O)~

** Oh, snap! Tristepin was the one who was overpowered! I bet you all thought that the Shushu energy was going to make him some unstoppable force or something. Well, he isn't immortal... Yet. ewe**  
** I'm afraid that I've been making Tristepin too intelligent. He's been drawing inferences throughout the whole fic so far. Should I try to dumb him down a bit?**  
** Now, for the important question I mentioned in Chapter 4: My main hobby is animating, not writing. Lately, I've been wanting to do a short animation based on my FanFiction. I'm a lot better at that than writing. Do you all think I should do that? It won't interfere with update time, since I'll only work on it if my typing is caught up with my writing. This means that it will be slow in coming. But I want to animate one of these scenes;  
**  
** Soup Scene**  
** Tristepin vs Tangur and Korma**  
** Mother Birthing Tangur and Korma (not the disturbing way, ew...)**  
** Tristepin vs Rigora  
Some scene in the future of my choosing (the moment will probably have already happened by the time I finish the animation)  
****Other (tell me which scene)**

** So, should I do any of these? PM your answer to me, or review if you're a guest. Whichever gets the most votes by the time Chapter 7 is posted is what I'll go with.  
****_Please_ let me know what you think of the story. It really does wonders for an author's motivation. ;)**  
** Well, I think this is now my longest chapter, so let's end this AN here as long as I'm not forgetting anything. At least, I think I'm not... Anywho, see you next time on Carrier!**


	6. Chapter 6

**Yes, yes, I'm back! I know I said I'd update quickly, but you would not _believe_ the level of writer's block that I've been suffering through. I was trying to make it so that it wasn't all "Dialogue, SHUSHU! Dial- SHUSHU! Di- SHUSHU! ... SHUSHU!" I lean a lot towards fight scenes, so it's really hard for me to consciously space them out. The result: taking a month to write two pages. And my chapters average at eight pages... So yeah.**

**I DID start an apology one-shot about Tristepin's past while I was stuck. This is NOT written beforehand, so I'm doing it as I go. I only worked on it when I got stuck with this.**

**I've also tried to keep Rubilax as in-character as possible for this chapter. He's been rather solemn for the whole ****fic, even if the situation might have called for it.**

**So far, Soup Scene is winning with two votes. Get your votes in by next chapter! Also, do you want me to animate in the Wakfu style for smoothness, or in a frame-by-frame style for dynamics? A mix of both? This will be really helpful for the animation process! (I'm using Flash, by the way.)**

**Enough of me. I'm sure you'd like to get back to the story now.**

Chapter 6

~(O)~

Tristepin awoke to the sound of quiet murmurs. He squinted his eyes against a popping headache. He felt the chill that came right after his amnesia, and he knew that he'd done it agin.

But he felt warm hands against his cold, bare skin, and he realized that he was leaning against a rock, with Eva wrapping white gauze around his chest.

"E-Eva, you're... Ohhh..." he groaned when he turned to move. His chest felt tight, and it stung badly.

"Don't move, Pinpin. You might reopen your wounds."

Now fully awake, Tristepin looked around. Remington and Rubilax were talking about something just out of earshot. Rigora lay several yards away. Several arrows protruded from his single eye, and entire sections of his body were splattered in the area around him, as if something large had smashed him repeatedly. Probably Rubilax's handiwork. Eva, looking anxiously into his eyes, had gotten some bruises, and had a nasty-looking cut on her left arm. He felt a spark of anger rush through him.

"The Shushu, it-"

"It's okay, Pinpin," she reassured him soothingly. "It's dead."

"But... But Eva, you're hurt!"

"_I'm_ hurt?!" she suddenly squawked. "_You're_ the one who was bleeding out! Don't you think I'd be worried about you?!" After her sudden outburst, she looked down, tears in her eyes. "I really thought you were going to die, Pinpin."

"Eva..." Tristepin slowly pulled her into a hug with strong, gentle arms, ignoring the pain in his chest. "I won't let them take me away from you. I promise I won't." The two of them were comfortable, just staying like that for a while.

"The Iop's awake," Remington commented offhandedly, sauntering over. Tristepin groaned. It felt like he would never be allowed a moment in peace with Eva as long as they were in this place.

When Remington spoke, Rubilax looked over. He walked over with a stern look, saying, "Dally, you-"

"I know what I did," Tristepin cut him off. "But what was I supposed to do, let Eva get killed?"

"No, and I wasn't going to suggest it," Rubilax snorted. "Either way, it's clear that trying to remain calm isn't going to work."

"That's what I was trying to say," Remington said. "But none of you guys seemed to agree with me."

"So, what now?" Tristepin asked. "Isn't there something I can do to... to stop this?"

"I don't know," Rubilax admitted after a long pause. "All we have are guesses and assumptions. I don't even know if this is what we think it is."

"Then what are we going to do?!" Tristepin pleaded. "Am I really going to be like this for the rest of my life?!"

"You may very well have to, Dally."

"_Damn it!_" Tristepin slammed an angry fist on the ground. He instantly regretted it when white hot pain seared through his chest.

"Pinpin!" Eva reached her arms out in case the Iop fell. "I told you not to move around so much!"

"It... It's okay..." he grunted. "It... didn't reopen..."

"But what _is_ he gonna do?" Grany asked.

"I guess he's just gotta deal with it," Remington answered.

Rubilax thought aloud to himself. "Maybe it isn't so much a matter of controlling it, as much as one of going _with_ it..."

"A... Are you sure?" Eva asked.

"Of course not," Rubilax replied. "But have you ever met a Shushu who _liked_ having its power controlled?"

"Well, no."

"Are you absolutely sure this is gonna work?" Remington questioned the Shushu. "'Cause your last plan seemed to work just great."

"None of us are sure about anything," Eva replied. "But we can find out if we try."

"And what if it doesn't work?" Tristepin interjected. "I haven't even been doing a good job trying to suppress it! What if something happens? What if I attack one of you again?!"

"Then we stop you," Rubilax answered simply. "You've always been able to come back to your senses. Keeping you still was the hard part."

"But... But I-"

"Why don't we try it?" Grany asked innocently. "Then we'll know for sure."

"We don't have time for that, brother," Remington said. "We're kinda trying to escape a dungeon filled to the brim with Shushus."

"Even if he tried right now?"

"I'm not gonna do it," Tristepin interrupted. "It's already happened twice. I don't ever remember it, but every time, something bad has happened! The last thing I'm gonna do is just 'go with it' and see what happens!"

"Pinpin..." Eva murmured. It was completely understandable for him to be thinking like that. If it had been her, she wasn't so sure she'd want to do it, either.

"Then what will you do?" Remington asked harshly. "What if Eva gets hurt? What if she gets killed? What're you gonna do then?"

Tristepin remained silent for a long time, fists tightly clenched. Slowly, he unclenched them, eyes downcast. "I don't know," he said quietly. "That's what I'm afraid of."

~(O)~

Mother was angry.

Oh, yes, she was very angry. She hissed and stomped about, gnashing her teeth and smashing her heavy tail on the ground. Nothing was working! Her children were completely useless!

It was stronger than she had first thought, and getting stronger. It left ever her children unable to do anything. It was frustrating, but that meant that it would be well worth the wait.

Mother's growl of annoyance became one of pleasure. Thanks to her little Eyes, she was able to see what Rigora had revealed to her. It was at its strongest when the human girl was in danger. She could see what the girl was to the Carrier, and everything she had to offer him. It was no wonder, the way he acted when he knew she was mere moments away from death.

But what would happen if he didn't know until it was too late?

Mother smiled. For the third time that day, she planted her 'feet' on the ground to birth another child. Such simple beings as she had been creating wouldn't do the job. She needed to take special care in the creation of this one. No, two, she decided. The more the merrier, she liked to think.

She bowed her head and her shoulders heaved, and she birthed the first child, an abomination of joints and spindly legs. Soon followed her second child; this one would be of utmost importance. It had a cloaked body and a round head. It and its sibling were both quite small compared to Mother's previous children.

"_Thirrik..._" Mother hissed. "_Distract them..._" The Shushu skittered around in an excited jumble of limbs before scampering away to obey its Mother. "_Gorath... Finish them..._"

"As you wish it, Mother," Gorath replied humbly. With a wave, his cloaked arm billowed, and he disappeared entirely.

Mother cackled to herself with glee. She could hardly bear to wait any longer. Soon, the human would be brought to her, so that she may escape this hellish prison.

She bet that he would taste delicious.

~(O)~

With Tristepin's injury, the group decided that it would be best for them to rest while they could. The Smisse brothers kept watch, in case they were attacked, and they all knew that it could happen at any time. Rubilax had summoned a small group of minions to make sure that the two didn't get killed themselves or try to escape. Eva was cuddled up to Tristepin, silently worrying to herself about him, leaving the Iop to his thoughts.

Tristepin wanted nothing more to do with his newfound Shushu energy. He hated the way it made him feel, and he hated the way it made him act. He was so angry all the time, and it always made him feel so _cold_. He'd almost hurt his friends because of it. He wished that he could pick it up, throw it away, and never see it again.

However, Tristepin had saved Eva... four times?... with this power. Four times where, when his own power failed him, he was able to call upon Rubilax's energy to save his love. As much as he wanted to, he couldn't deny that it had been a big help to him. Without it, Eva would have been dead months ago.

Rubilax was right. Maybe he should try to go with it, instead of against it. Maybe then he would at least know what he was doing.

He looked over when he felt Eva stir. She was looking at him with her large, green eyes. "You're thinking about something," she stated.

"Yeah," he admitted. "I was just thinking about this whole Shushu thing. I still can't wrap my head around it."

"Me neither." Eva paused. "It must be really hard for you."

"Nah," Tristepin replied. "... Well, a little."

"Don't worry," Eva said comfortingly, placing a hand on his leg. "We're going to figure this out."

Tristepin met her gaze, seeing the hope and trust that lit up her eyes. He knew that she was right. They _would_ figure this out. It wouldn't be easy, but he believed in her words.

Tristepin smiled, gently squeezing her hand. "Thanks, Eva."

"Of course." And for the first time in what must have been hours, the two were allowed a moment all to themselves.

Remington was growing increasingly bored. He and Grany had been keeping an eye out for Shushus for who-knows-how-long, and they hadn't seen so much as a flicker of movement, save for the eager shifting from foot to foot of some of Rubilax's clones. He wondered if there were even any more Shushus to fight, aside from the boss. He quickly discarded the thought; for such a difficult dungeon, not a lot of enemies had actually showed up. It couldn't be over yet.

The Roublard was drawn out of his thoughts when he felt Grany's fur bristling on his cheek. With a questioning look, he turned to find out what was wrong. He was met with the imposing figure of Rubilax, looking none too pleased. Remington hadn't even heard his approach.

"Whaddya want? Is it your shift or something?"

"I want answers. As in, right now."

"Aside from the ones we've already given you? I'm afraid to say there are none."

"Do you take me for a fool?" Rubilax demanded. "Don't you dare tell me that you just so happened to be waltzing by our home, and coincidentally ended up on the same island that we were on, and then dragged us into one of the most dangerous dungeons in this world to 'keep us safe.' It doesn't take a genius to figure out that you're planning something."

"Don't be stupid!" Remington shouted incredulously. "If I wanted you dead, I would'a shot you all and been done with it! And if I didn't wanna do that, I'da thrown you all in here and left you to rot! Did you really think I'd be willing to get _us_ killed trying to kill _you_ guys?! Honestly, no faith!"

"To be fair, we haven't been all that honest in the past," Grany pointed out.

"You're not exactly making us seem very innocent right now, Grany," Remington berated.

"No matter; I didn't believe you anyway," Rubilax interjected.

"I know I've lied to you," Remington admitted. "A lot. But I swear to you that I'm telling the truth now. I even saved your Guardian _and_ his girlfriend. You can't deny that I've done _that_, at least."

"Now the only question is why."

Remington threw up his hands, nearly tossing Grany off of his shoulder. "Are you really so dense?! I'm trying to tell you that I don't _have_ any ulterior motives or whatever!"

"How many times does it make now that you've said those same words?"

"By the Gods, you really _are_ dense, aren't you?!"

Rubilax yanked the Rogue by the collar so that they were face to face. "You use that tone with me again and I'll pound you so hard they won't be able to find what's left of you.?

"You wouldn't dare. You'd all be dead if you did, and you know it."

Rubilax glared at him for a long time before speaking. "Then you better make yourself useful, or else I might just do it anyway. And don't even think about trying anything. I'll kick your ass if Dally doesn't beat me to it."

Remington shoved the Shushu's hands off of him, Rubilax releasing him, albeit reluctantly. "Well, it isn't like that wasn't my intention in the first place. But I'm not staying with you bunch of mongrels any longer than I have to. Hanging out with the lot of you is shaving years off of my life."

"Likewise."

The two moved on to do their separate duties, as before. But not even a full minute had passed before the whole group heard an inhuman screech.

~(O)~

**And now we (finally) have chapter six up! Now the title probably makes more sense, if it didn't before, as did 'it.'**

**Chapter seven is almost entirely written out now, and I am _not_ suffering from writer's block like I was with this. So hopefully, I can get the chapter posted within the next couple of weeks. The month, at the latest. But I won't promise anything, because with my luck something will come up that will keep me off the site. So keep your fingers crossed!**

**Please let me know how I'm doing! I like knowing what I need to fix or change. It helps me a lot with the writing process.**

**Remember to get your animation votes in! Soup Scene is winning, but there's plenty of other candidates!**

**Hope to see you all soon! :D**


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